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Other Stuff => Model and Miniature Photography => Topic started by: Fitz on September 12, 2021, 09:31:50 PM

Title: Not a tripod
Post by: Fitz on September 12, 2021, 09:31:50 PM

(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SdCsEPUDa5U/YT0-05oiOrI/AAAAAAAAZyk/UHZ5j1hOqwEJWf0EwCSlMH3AAt-s5AIrgCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/2021-09-12-LumixCameraStand.jpg)

I had a spare Beike tripod head hanging around, so I whipped up this little wooden base for it and put my old Lumix bridge camera on it. It's a lot less adjustable and flexible than a proper tripod, but for copy work or the like, it's actually a lot more convenient.

The Lumix is a decent camera of its type, with a nice Leica lens of reasonable speed and quite a wide zoom range, but it only uses a motorized zoom, and it doesn't take interchangeable lenses. It'll do auto-bracketing, which can be very handy for miniatures photography. I was actually trying to sell it a while ago, but got no interest at all, so I figured I might as well get some more use out of it.

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: Blackwolf on September 12, 2021, 10:02:32 PM

Nice! I had a Lumix similar to yours, couldn't  get along with it. As you say the motorised zoom et cetera. Glad to see you're having success with it :)

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: Fitz on September 14, 2021, 12:03:27 AM

Quote from: Blackwolf on September 12, 2021, 10:02:32 PM

Nice! I had a Lumix similar to yours, couldn't  get along with it. As you say the motorised zoom et cetera. Glad to see you're having success with it :)

In truth, it's been pretty much superseded by a Nikon DSLR (D3500), but I got good service out of the Lumix for about a decade, and it's good to make it at least moderately useful again. Those "bridge" cameras aren't as good as a proper DSLR, but at the time it gave me the best bang for my buck.

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: Fitz on September 15, 2021, 09:21:11 PM

For anyone who might be interested in putting together a copy stand like this, I got the ball-mount tripod head from China via AliExpress. It cost me about twenty Kiwibucks, so that would be about ten Brexitquids or fourteen Yankeebucks or twelve Eurocredits. (Postage was free to NZ, but it might not be to wherever you are).

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: Vanvlak on September 16, 2021, 05:59:19 AM

Quote from: Fitz on September 15, 2021, 09:21:11 PM

For anyone who might be interested in putting together a copy stand like this, I got the ball-mount tripod head from China via AliExpress. It cost me about twenty Kiwibucks, so that would be about ten Brexitquids or fourteen Yankeebucks or twelve Eurocredits. (Postage was free to NZ, but it might not be to wherever you are).

Could be useful - thanks for the link.   8)

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: Hammers on September 16, 2021, 07:39:00 AM

Neat idea. There is no trouble with it being top heavy? What's the base made of?

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: Fitz on September 16, 2021, 10:59:08 AM

The base is just a scrap of rimu (a native New Zealand conifer) with a 1/4" bolt embedded in it for the tripod head to screw on to.The rimu started to split under the pressure of the bolt, so I glued a piece of 12mm plywood underneath it to stabilize it.

It hasn't shown any tendency to top-heaviness; if it did, I'd just add another wider piece of plywood underneath.

Title: Re: Not a tripod
Post by: modelwarrior on September 16, 2021, 01:20:28 PM

Looks like a cunning plan to me. I take my photos with a tripod lowered to the lowest height and me doing a Cossak type of dance manoeuver to take the shot . I might give your idea go,thx.